Technology

But I have a mouse from 20 years ago that works just fine.

I'm going to blame the cloud for this. SaaS has got pretty much most software companies into the idea that they can have their cake and eat it with recurring revenue from cloud hosting their services.

This seems to have overflowed into every other market, where they want a piece of that pie.

I'm hoping it's a fad that goes away. You know how we can make it a fad that goes away? Don't buy into this shit.

I have used nothing but Logitech thumb-ball mice for the past 20 years. I love my MX Ergo.

If Logitech ever sells a mouse with a subscription, I don't care how nice it is, I'll have my own fucking PCB made and design my own QMK capable mouse before I'll pay for it.

Just sell me the $90 mouse that lasts 5 years. I refuse to accept mouse feudalism.

What's the value proposition here? Free no-questions-asked replacement if it breaks? Free upgrades when new models come out (though they have no real incentive to keep developing new "forever mice")?

If my mice on average last, say, 6 years and cost $175 (I splurged on a high-end one last time), the subscription will have to be less than $2.40/month, and since customers absolutely hate subscriptions, especially if there's no real benefit, probably even less than $1.50/month for most to even consider it.

In fact the Logitech mouse before my current mouse lasted 12 years and cost me $75, so that's a max subscription cost of 50 cents/month for it to be comparable.

Seriously, fuck all these "subscription" ideas.

Why in the ever-loving fuck would I want to pay a subscription for a goddam computer mouse? Some techbro fuckwit is probably chest-bumping his own reflection in the mirror for coming up with this dumb idea.

Here's a novel idea to help you keep revenue going the right direction: try innovating something truly useful and new, rather than selling the same, regurgitated Hotel California bullshit to hapless users.

They can't even make a mouse that doesn't double click after a year. Dumbass.

I’m not planning to throw that watch away ever. So why would I be throwing my mouse or my keyboard away if it’s a fantastic-quality, well-designed, software-enabled mouse?

Because watch technology is mature and isn't changing. Nobody's making a better watch every few years.

That generally isn't true of computer hardware.

In the 1980s, you had maybe a one or two button mouse with mechanical optical encoder rings turned by a ball that gummed up and would stick.

After that:

• A third mouse button showed up

• A scrollwheel showed up

• Optical sensors showed up.

• Better optical sensors showed up, with the ability to function on arbitrary surfaces and dejittering.

• Polling rate improved

• Mice got the ability to go to sleep if not being used.

• More buttons showed up, with mice often having five or more buttons.

• Tilt scrollwheels showed up

• Wireless mice showed up

• Better wireless protocols showed up

• Optical sensor resolutions drastically increased

• Weight decreased

• Foot pads used less-friction-inducing material.

• Several updates happened to track changing ports (on PC, serial, PS/2, USB-A, and probably soon USB-C).

• The transparent mouse bodies that were initially-used on many optical mice (to show off the LED and that they were optical) went away as companies figured out that people did not want to have flashing red mice. (I was particularly annoyed by this, modded a trackball that used a translucent ball to use a near-infrared LED back in the day).

If wristwatches had improved like that over the past 40 years, you likely wouldn't be keeping an older one either.

If you think that there isn't going to be any more change in mice, okay, maybe you can try selling people on the same mouse for a long time. I'm skeptical.

They already did that when Logitech was still a quality company back in the day. Their peripherals turned into Trust level shit ages ago.

Perhaps I am incredibly naive, but for me a “Forever mouse” is something you buy, own, and have control absolute over!

Of course this is an idea that the CEO brought up, but if this ever materializes as an actual product, I'll never buy a Logitech again.

Weird analogy, you don't to pay a subscription for your nice watch to keep the right time

She can fuck right off with that. I have a mouse that fell apart because it used soft plastic, another one I threw away because I couldn't clean properly (taking it apart to clean broke something), and now I have one from logitech. My parents have a mouse from (I kid you not) 1995. Brand is unknown. There were already "forever" mice out there, it's just that now they voluntarily make them shit for you to buy a new one.

Just make mice like 20 years ago but in different forms (vertical, ball at the thumb), that can be opened to clean and repair, and we're fine. No need for your dumb-ass subscription. Fuck off.

Anti Commercial-AI license

"Forever mouse" is a marketing term to sell you a subscription. I'm not going to pay a subscription to get driver updates or to use basic functionality of the mouse. I have a forever keyboard (expensive mechanical keyboard) and it does not require a subscription and I can use the entire functionality without paying ever again.